


magician’s assistants are highly sawed after

by ACatWhoWrites



Series: A Prompt a Day in the Month of May [25]
Category: EXO (Band), K-pop
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Cats, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Brothers, Familiars, Gen, Kim Bros, Magical Accidents, Microfic, Short One Shot, Slice of Life, Witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-26
Updated: 2018-05-26
Packaged: 2019-05-14 01:06:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14759678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ACatWhoWrites/pseuds/ACatWhoWrites
Summary: At least Joonmyun knows that he won't lose his handsome looks when he's his dad's age and older.





	magician’s assistants are highly sawed after

It's one of those days he should've stayed in bed, apparently.

Joonmyun crawls out of bed at a somewhat reasonable hour, not entirely awake but navigating the house by memory and only tripping over his own things. His parents left breakfast out, and hearing his little brother making urgent noises of distress was nothing new; puberty's struck him hard, and his emotions are all over the place.

While that may or may not be the cause of this incident, Joonmyun doesn't know or really care. He just knows that after eating, his brother yelled, spooking their cats, and Joonmyun felt even more exhausted and strangely heavy.

"Hyung...I am _so sorry_."

Joonmyun frowns critically at his image in the front-facing camera of his phone, taking in the fine lines of crows feet at the corners of his eyes, the slightly loose skin over his cheeks, and—most noticeably—the start of gray in his hair, which was still full and thick. Silver lining. Still, for his apparent age of 16 plus another 30 years, he looks pretty good. "It's alright."

"Really?" Jongin sounds hopeful, if still a little sulky. He says he hadn't meant to knock his potion into his brother's breakfast. Joonmyun believes him, but he also suspects Jongin's cat may have had something to do with it. "You're not mad?"

"I can't say I'm thrilled at all,” Joonmyun puts his phone in his pocket, “but it's nothing permanent. If you show me which one you were making, I'm sure we can make a counter-potion." Potions are not his specialty, but he's willing to learn, if it means returning him to his youthful good looks.

"Okay!" Jongin all but runs from the bathroom, calling for Joonmyun to follow him into the living room, where his books are spread out over the coffee table. His cat, a powerful familiar named Jongdae, looks up when Joonmyun enters and smiles a feline smile, getting up from his spot on the couch to wind around his ankles.

"Not a word, Jongdae."

"Of course, but I think the gray really suits you." Joonmyun picks him up and flips him onto his back, rubbing a hand over the soft white belly until his legs all relax and hang limply.

"So show me what you used." He lowers himself to the floor beside Jongin with a groan and crack of his knees. It’s hell getting old. His own cat, Minseok, makes his appearance, looking impecably groomed and put together.

“What happened?”

Jongin pushes a book towards Joonmyun, pointing out a recipe and sliding a piece of paper with another recipe printed off the internet onto the opposite page. Minseok stands on his hind legs to reach the low table.

"You _combined_ potions?" Even the more advanced wizards are wary of mixing potions. Jongin looks suitably sheepish.

"I just wanted to know what would happen... I didn't expect it to be so hot, and it spilled into your food when I dropped it into the sink..." Spells are not supposed to be poured down the sink. It's a good thing their parents are gone, or Jongin would be in some actual trouble for practicing without supervision, not following directions, and improper potion disposal.

Joonmyun sighs. Jongdae purrs louder, right in his ear. It does not help his mood. "If it was just this one spell, it'd be easy. I'll have to look into the combination."

"I'm really sorry, hyung." Even without a single unkind word, Jongin’s sulking and doing his best kicked puppy impression. It’s not fair; he’s not the one carrying double his own lifetime.

But it’s hard to stay mad at him, especially when Joonmyun knows it was an honest mistake born from curiosity—on Jongin's part, at least—which is how many spells and potions even came about.

Jongdae takes it upon himself to climb over Joonmyun's shoulder and rub along Jongin's thigh, clawing onto his lap to stand his forepaws on the boy's belly and nuzzle their faces together. “No worries, Jonginnie. If ahjussi can’t reverse the spell before your parents get home, I know a guy.”

“Jongdae,” Joonmyun says sweetly without looking up from the text, “call me that again, and I will pluck your whiskers.” Only on one side, so he’ll not only be disoriented and off-kilter but also look funny and be a major blow to the cat's vanity. Minseok gently places a paw on his knee to calm him down and focus.

Jongdae curls up on Jongin's lap, tucking his feet and doing his best _I'll behave!_ impression.

**Author's Note:**

> I decided to try a prompt a day in May, not following any list. This came from **middle-aged**.


End file.
